Towel holders



July 22, 1958 F. D. HAINES 2,844,259

TOWEL HOLDERS Filed March 14, 1955 2 She ets-Sheet 1 M TUB Q ATTORNEY P 2,844,259 r e PatentedJuly 22, 1958 2,844,259 I TOWEL. HOLDERS Frank D. Haines, Ambler, Pa. Application} March 14, 1955, Serial No. 493,946. Claims. C1. 21116) This invention'relates' to towel holders.

It is the principal object:of the present invention to provide a towel holder by which an endless towel is supported as desired in pendant position for use or horizontally for storage. 5

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a towel holder as aforesaid which is particularly suitable for use with wall mounted kitchen cabinets.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a towel holder as aforesaid which may be simply and inexpensively constructed.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following through for mounting screws (not shown) by which the frame 11 canbe secured to the underside of a wall mounted cabinet, such as a kitchen cabinet or the like. The side walls 14 and 15 have extending inwardly from the upper margins thereof horizontal flanges 20 and 21, spaced below the flanges 16 and 17.

description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a towel holder in accordance with the invention as seen from below and with the towel in position for use;

Fig. 2 is another view in perspective of the towel holder as seen from above and with the towel in stored position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the towel holder with the towel in stored position;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken approximately on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken approximately on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the towel holder with the towel in position for use;

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken approximately on the line 77 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view in perspective of theslide removed from the frame; and

Fig. 9 is a view in elevation of the holder bar removed from the frame.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a towel of flexible textile material with its ends joined to form an endless band is shown at 10. The length of the hand 10 is determined by the size of the support.

A frame 11 is provided, preferably of sheet metal, with a vertical front wall 12, a vertical rear wall 13 parallel to the front wall 12, and spaced parallel vertical side walls 14 and 15.

The front wall 12 has extending rearwardly from the upper margin thereof a horizontal flange 16 and the rear wall 13 has extending forwardly from the upper margin thereof a horizontal flange 17. The flanges 16 and 17 have end extensions 18 with openings 19 there- Spaced downwardly from the side wall flanges 20 and 21, horizontal plates 22 are provided.

A slide 25 is provided, having a top wall plate 26 which is adapted to be horizontally disposed and the side marginal edges of which are inserted between the side wall flanges 20 and 21 and the plates 22. These flanges and plates guide and aid in retaining the slide 25 in position. The slide 25 has a vertical rear wall plate 27, preferably integral with the wall plate 26, from which horizontally forwardly extending brackets 28 extend. The brackets 28 support a horizontal positioning bar 29 which is secured thereto in any desired manner.

In order to guide the slide 25in its movement in a horizontal plane, as determined by the flanges 20 and 21 and the plates 22, any desired structure may be employed. One suitable arrangement comprises a pair of arms 30 and 31 pivotally connected at their central portions by a pivot pin 32. The arm 30 is pivotally connected by a pivot pin 33 at one end to the frame flange 16 and is pivotally connected at the other end to the plate 26 by a pivot pin 34 positioned in an elongated slot 35. The arm 31 is pivotally connected at one end by a pivot pin 36 to the plate 26 and is pivotally connected at the other end to the flange 16 by a pivot pin 37 positioned in an elongated slot 38.

In order to support and hold the towel band 10, a bar 40 is provided which is preferably made in a U-shape and has an upper bar portion 41 on which the towel band 10 is carried and a lower parallel bar portion 42 in spaced relation thereto and also interiorly disposed with respect to the towel band 10. The bar portions 41 and 42, with the bar 29, control the positioning of the towel band, as hereinafter explained.

The bar 40 may be carried in any suitable manner in the frame 11, one suitable arrangement being spaced openings 43 in the side walls 14 and 15.

If desired, locking structure may be provided for holding the bar 40 in place, and as shown, comprises a slide 44 carried by the side wall 15.

In use, the bar 40 is first removed and then mounted in position in the side walls 14 and 15 with the towel band 10 carried thereon and with the slide 25 in its forward position. The towel band 10 will be in pendant position as shown in Figs. 1 and 7, disposed between the bar 29 and the rear plate 27. The towel band 10 may be manually pulled to dispose diiferent portions thereof for use, while being supported on the bar portion 41.'

When it is desired to move the towel band 10 to a stored position this may be readily effected by manually moving the slide 25 rearwardly to the position shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Upon rearward movement of the slide 25, the bar 29 acts as an abutment movable with respect to the bar portions 41 and 42 so that the towel band 10 is drawn rearwardly and is held within the frame 11 in a horizontal arrangement out of the position for use.

If it is desired to position the towel for use, this may be readily eifected by grasping the lowermost portion of the towel band from below and pulling, or by moving the slide 25 forwardly so that the towel band 10 can fall to a vertical position.

It will be noted that the towel band 10 can be readily positioned as desired for storage or for use and that it will ordinarily remain in the position at which it is placed.

At the same time, the towel band 10 can be quickly and easily removed for washing and for replacement by a clean towel band 10 when desired.

1 claim: I

1. A support for a towel band in free vertically pendant position or horizontally held stored position comprising a horizontally disposed frame open .at the bottom .and having spaced parallel front and rear portions and spaced parallel side portions, a towel supporting member removably mounted in said frame in contiguous spaced relation to said front frame portion and extending between said side portions, said towel supporting member having a pair of horizontal vertically spaced bar portions and disposed interiorly of said towel band with'the upper bar portion in continuous engagement with the towel band, and a horizontally movable member carried by said frame and extending between said side frame portions, said movable member having a bar movable between said bar portions and engageable exteriorly with said towel band for moving said towel band to a horizontal folded storage position with said towel band in engagement with said bar portions.

2. A towel band support as defined in claim 1 in which the side portions of "the frame are vertical side walls, said side walls having horizontal supporting and guiding portions for said movable member.

3. A towel band support as defined in claim 1 in which a collapsible parallel motion connection is provided between said movable member and said frame for guiding said movable member.

4. A towel band support as defined in claim 1 in which said frame portions include pairs of vertical walls, and at least one pair of said walls has horizontal flanges.

5. A towel band support as defined in claim 1 in which,

the side frame portions have horizontal inwardly extending track plates, and the movable member has a horizontal supporting portion for movement along said track plates and a vertical wall plate extending therefrom, and the vertical wall portion has said towel band engaging bar spaced forwardly therefrom.

References Cited-in the ifile' of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 448,663 Moore et al. Mar. 24, 1891 

